


Storms of Scars and Stars

by MicheleBlack



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Community: hp_drizzle, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, HP Drizzle Fest 2020, Hogwarts Era, Love, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Romance, Slow Build, Weather
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:28:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25743595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MicheleBlack/pseuds/MicheleBlack
Summary: Seven storms over seven years of Hogwarts tell the story of how Remus and Sirius fell in love.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 88
Collections: HP Drizzle Fest 2020





	Storms of Scars and Stars

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:  
> Wolfstar holds a deep place in my heart - I fell in love with the two of them many years ago, and it’s nice to finally have a chance to play in their world.  
> Many thanks to my alpha/beta WeakRevolution, who pushed this story to be better than I could ever make it alone. Thanks for helping me weather every storm.

**Storms of Scars and Stars**

_When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in._

-Haruku Murakami

* * *

**\- Early Storm -**

**Late August 1970 - Thunder**

Sudden and violent thunder rumbled again followed swiftly by a bolt of lightning that illuminated every corner of his dark room. The extremely loud sound caused Sirius to jump, jolting him urgently upright and making his blood run cold through his veins. Swiftly grabbing his comforter he flung himself off the mattress and managed to crawl into the space under his bed - dragging the blanket along behind him. 

He was a wizard! He wasn’t supposed to be afraid of anything! Just one more year until he got his Hogwarts letter. Too old to have the loud thunderclaps scare him so completely. According to his mother other people were the ones who cowered at the feet of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black-

An awful, tremendous boom sounded in the distance, and Sirius felt the now familiar sensation of his chest tightening in fear. He shoved his hands over his ears and shut his eyes and started to count, “one, two, three...”

Regulus had told him about counting the number of seconds between the lightning’s flash and the thunder’s boom. He’d claimed Kreacher said that it let you tell how far away the storm was - his younger brother’s voice had been excited, whether from a genuine wish to help Sirius with his fear or mischief at pawning off yet another lie. Sirius couldn’t tell, but the counting did help. Yet another hit to his pride, perfect Regulus, who was at this moment sleeping calmly in his room down the hall while the storm raged, having to help out his older brother. It wasn’t _fair!_

Light flashed through his shut eyelids from the lightning he couldn’t see but felt so close.

Hugging his knees to his chest, Sirius pressed his cheek to the floor. He noticed he had less room than last time he was down here. His days of hiding under the bed were numbered. He ignored the thought and focused on just remembering to breathe. The storm would pass, the noises would calm, and the moon would come back out - he just had to wait. What little peace he could find was in that the deafening sounds weren’t directed at him – the entire world had to endure these loud noises – unlike when his mother would screech at him. The roar of her voice, loud and intense, would leave his hands trembling and his heart racing. Her words, mostly some version of “only pansy boys cry, Sirius Black!” only ever made him feel worse.

Loud noises never led to anything good.

Sirius reached out a shaky hand and pulled the covers over his head under the bed and did his best to fall back asleep as the rain torrentially poured on, drenching the world outside.

* * *

**\- Year 1 -**

**Early September 1971 - Drizzle**

The howler had come in hot and fast, and not so very unexpectedly, in the morning. The bright red envelope landed on his plate during breakfast. There was no avoiding opening it - his mother’s voice screeching at the top of her lungs, as loud as Sirius had ever heard her:

 _GRYFFINDOR?!_ HOW DARE THE SORTING HAT PLACE YOU IN THE HOUSE OF BLOOD TRAITORS AND MUDBLOODS! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE NOBLE AND MOST ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK! YOU HAVE MARRED OUR NAME! YOU ARE-

It was at that point that Sirius pressed his hands over his ears to stop them from bleeding, but it was too late - the loud reprimanding was now echoing off the walls. The entire Great Hall had turned to look his way as the howler continued to assault him, but he couldn’t stop his mother’s screaming anymore than he could slow his racing heart or quiet ringing in his ears. It was as painful as it was humiliating. He felt fear whip through him like a hot knife through butter, and he hoped it didn’t show too horribly on his face. It was all he could do to pull one hand from his ear and snatch the howler from the air and race out of the Great Hall, the sound of his mother’s voice continuing to assault his senses the entire time, until he exited the castle and found himself standing in the cool drizzling rain - the last of his mother’s screams finally dying but the shrill voice but the ringing in his ears from the shrill voice remained.

Sirius took the howler and threw it down on the ground, smashing the red into the dirt with his foot, his anger finally overcoming his fear now that the howler was blissfully silent. He didn’t care about what his mother said - he was already having enough struggles of his own without her reminders. 

The red sufficiently covered in dirt, Sirius slid down the castle wall, feeling the water soak through the back of his robes and he pulled his tie loose and tossed it down onto the ground. _What’s the bloody difference between green and silver and red and gold anyway?_ he thought miserably, _it’s not like she was going to stop yelling at me if I had been sorted into Slytherin. It would just be a different topic._

There would always be something wrong with him for her to find. Regulus was the perfect son - it was him that was the shite heir.

The rain picked up around him at that thought, the wind lifting his tie and carrying it away. Sirius didn’t even entertain chasing it - instead he tucked his head in between his knees and tried to drown out the world around him, reveling in the quiet while he had it.

It hadn’t even been a week since the Sorting Hat had deigned to place him in Gryffindor. It wasn’t as though he had really asked where to be placed there, per say. He’d been one of the first of his year to be sorted. The hall had been loud when they walked in, the first years fresh off from the boat ride across the lake while the other students were already at their house tables. Sirius had felt a slight bit of trepidation, but mostly he was excited - he was finally at Hogwarts and far away from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. He’d been so determined that no one was going to take that feeling away from him. 

Waiting to be sorted, Sirius had glanced over at Potter, trying to catch the eye of the boy he spent the last hours with on the Hogwarts Express, but they had gotten separated while boarding the boats and he hadn't caught a glimpse of him before-

“Sirius Black,” Professor McGonagall had called his name and he’d made his way up to take a seat on the stool, trying not to bounce. When she’d placed the hat on his head, there had been blissful silence for a moment. The hat didn’t speak to him, or even make any acknowledging sounds, instead Sirius had sat in silence for what felt like two full minutes before the hat had proclaimed “GRYFFINDOR!” and had been lifted back off his head. Sirius had made his way over to his new table, while the entire hall remained as silent as the hat had been - a Black in Gryffindor was an anomaly after all. No one had welcomed him as he sat, but then no one had actively shunned him either at that point, everyone just sort of sat in vague confusion. Sirius privately thought the silence had been fitting as the sorting continued and more first years joined him at the end of the table, the cheers in the hall growing louder and louder with each new student’s house proclaimed.

It was James Potter who had been the first to congratulate him when they got to their dorm room that night. “Way to show your family what’s what, huh, Black? Good show, mate.”

Sirius had played off the acknowledgement with some joke or another that had made James laugh and his other dormmate, Peter Pettigrew, laugh even harder. The only one that had not laughed was their final dormmate, a boy named Remus Lupin, who instead just gave Sirius an odd, soft smile - the silent smile had made the odd scars on his face seem to disappear.

Sirius had found himself entranced by that reaction, a quiet response that had made Sirius’ blood rush with an odd sense of anticipation, cancelling out all fear.

“Sirius?”

A soft voice caused Sirius to look up in time to see a hand reached out to him holding his tie.

“Are you alright?” Remus Lupin’s voice was soft, and his eyes softer, but his arm looked strong as he shoved Sirius’ tie forward again and adjusted the bag on his other shoulder. The rain was hitting his nose in soft droplets, but Sirius’ tie was dry and clean, like he’d performed some sort of cleaning spell on it.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Sirius asked with a cavalier air he didn’t quite feel but desperately wanted to portray. An air of manufactured coolness about him as he took the tie back from Remus and draped it around his neck. 

Remus gave him a funny look, “Well, you did race out the Great Hall super quickly a while ago and no one has seen you since…”

Sirius realized he didn’t know how much time had passed since breakfast but his white shirt was now mostly soaked through. He stood and pushed his damp hair back and gave Remus a smile, “I’m fine, mate. Thanks for returning this to me though.” He pulled on the end of the tie.

“No problem.” Remus gave him one of his soft smiles - in the short few days Sirius had known the other boy, he was beginning to get used to those smiles. “Happy to help track it down.”

 _How did you know where I was?_ Sirius wanted to ask, _And how did you know that was mine?_ but instead he said, “Did I miss anything important?”

“Not really,” Remus said, smiling that soft smile again and shrugging, his voice calm, “unless you count your first History of Magic block. Luckily I don’t think Professor Binns notices anything else but what he’s teaching when he’s teaching…”

“Oh you- you are secretly awful, aren’t you?” Sirius asked, a small laugh on the tip of his tongue, “it’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?”

Remus laughed at that, soft chuckles but he seemed unable to contain it. As they headed back inside the castle, Sirius watched his new friend’s shoulders shake as the rain came down and bounced off. The sound combined with the castle’s warmth hit Sirius like a spot of hot tea - he hadn’t realized he’d been so chilled to the bone or soaked through. The rain hadn’t felt _that_ heavy. He chanced a sidelong glance Remus’ way, but it appeared the other boy wasn’t even looking at him, even as they walked in lockstep back up towards Gryffindor Tower to dry off. 

* * *

**\- Year 2 -**

**Mid October 1972 - Downpour**

The bright flash of lightning woke him, and just in time for the loud crack of thunder to paralyze him. Before coming to Hogwarts, Sirius always thought storms sounded at their loudest in the dark of his bedroom. The storms would ravage him down to the bone, sending shivers of fear throughout his body until he couldn’t stand it. But being up in Gryffindor Tower was so much worse - the thunder sounded louder, the lightning flashed brighter, and the time between the two acts of nature blended impossibly close together.

 _It was just noise_ _,_ Sirius tried to remind himself, _Only clouds striking together._ But no matter how many thoughts he could muster up to try to be logical about it, the thunder would ring in his ears and cause his hands to shake and his heart to jump - the fear visceral throughout his body. It was utterly and completely ridiculous - so far during his two years at Hogwarts he’d earned the reputation of being fearless - nothing and no one could touch him. Only he knew his shameful secret - that at the age of twelve loud noises and thunderous rain storms scared the ever living daylights out of him. They terrified him so completely and, as if that wasn’t enough all on its own, they would remind him of his mother’s shrill screeching, Kreacher’s loud taunting, his father’s lashings - and of course the loud sounds of two clouds banging together in the night sky. 

Once he could move again, Sirius darted under his four poster bed, dragging his red and gold Gryffindor blanket with him. He settled onto it sideways, barely fitting in the crawl space beneath his bed, and closed his eyes, settling into the darkness of his mind instead of the darkness of the space. But the horror of the storm still raged outside the towers and the wind ripped against the window, as if threatening to break it.

Against his will, Sirius let out a whimper.

“Sirius?” Remus’ voice was soft but sleepy, “Can I-”

Sirius sat up quickly, the shock of Remus’ voice causing him to forget he was under the bed and hit his head on the bottom of the mattress box - hard. “Bloody hell,” he murmured. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, now his head was pounding from the pain. He pulled himself up from under the four poster and rolled over, slumping against the side of the bed frame, as he reached his hand up to his forehead. His fingers came away with blood on them.

“Sirius?” Remus’ voice came again as the curtains opened. He looked down at Sirius. “You’re bleeding.”

“Yeah,” Sirius agreed, his voice soft, almost lost in the raging storm outside or the fear that was still coursing through him. 

Remus didn’t wait for an invitation, he merely invited himself inside the curtain and sat down beside Sirius. “Hold still,” he commanded, turning Sirius’ face towards his, reaching his hand up to inspect the cut, gently running his thumb over the small patch of open skin. Sirius felt something warm run up his spine, and he curled into it protectively, like an armor he could wrap around himself as he watched Remus pull out his wand.

“I know a little- er- some of the first aid basics. Because of, well as you guys figured out earlier- er last year…” Remus’ voice trailed off at that. 

Sirius knew what he was getting at. Last year he and James had figured out that Remus had a 'furry little problem' when the full moon was out. He knew his friend was still very self conscious about it, but being a werewolf couldn't be cooler in Sirius' eyes. Remus was his friend and he didn't care what his mother, father, or even brother had to say about it. Remus was too kind, too good, too nice, too-

Sirius was jolted out of his thoughts by an odd itching sensation on his forehead as his cut was healed and Remus put down his wand. “There,” Remus said, small smile on his lips. Secretly, Sirius always felt like that smile was just for him somehow, but he would never say so out loud. He wasn’t that bloody stupid. “All sorted.”

A clap of thunder outside made Sirius curl inwardly on himself before he could respond.

“Or is it…” Remus’ voice trailed off as he glanced in the direction the window would be in if they could see it through the curtains. “Are you, Sirius- are you scared of the storm?”

Sirius opened his mouth to deny it, to say there was no way he was scared of a little storm, but another thunderous roar blasted through the curtains and his fear betrayed him.

“It’s okay.” Remus moved to sit beside him against the bed and rested his hand on the floor in the small space between the two of them. “You know, my mum used to say that thunder is caused by old men in the sky playing nine-pins.” He looked over and gave Sirius another soft smile. “The sound of thunder is just when the ball strikes the pins.”

“Nine-pins?”

“It’s a Muggle game, I suppose. Much like bowling.”

At that Sirius gave him an even more bewildered look and Remus let out a soft chuckle, but it didn’t seem to be aimed at Sirius’ fear or even making fun of him for not knowing what bowling was. Trying not to overthink it, Sirius moved his hand to rest on top of Remus’ as the other boy continued and explained, “Bowling - it’s a muggle game where a player rolls or throws a bowling ball down a lane to knock over pins at the end. You get points for each one knocked over.”

“That doesn’t sound too hard,” Sirius mused out loud, thankful for the odd topic serving as a distraction from the storm out the window and the even more potent diversion of Remus’ hand hot beneath his own. He didn’t lift his up just yet and Remus didn’t seem to mind.

“It’s a little more tricky than you might think.” Remus bit his bottom lip. “But I’ve only gone once or twice when I was really young, so I probably am not the best judge.”

They sat there in silence for a little while after that as the storm pelted the window, neither of them lifting their hands up off of the other’s. Sirius felt himself drifting in the odd warmth that was traveling up his arm and landing in his chest, spreading out from there like a soft wave, lulling him to safety-

Another thunderous boom echoed around the two boys and Sirius jumped, his hand raising off Remus’ from the sheer fear and adrenaline that was now completely overtaking the soft warmth that had been there mere seconds before.

“Hey,” Remus’ voice was soft, cutting through Sirius’ uncontrollable shaking, “it’s okay.”

Suddenly, Sirius had his arms wrapped around Remus. It was entirely impulsive and fueled by his need for something to calm him down, were he under the bed he would have mangled the blankets, choking the cloth in the same hold, but instead he just flung his arms around his friend and held him close. For a moment Remus went still, but then he seemed to melt against Sirius’ unexpected embrace, rubbing his hand up and down his back and whispering, “you’re okay,” in his ear as Sirius came down from his fear-riddled high.

Once Sirius calmed he tried to pull away, feeling guilty that he’d pulled Remus in like that, but Remus didn’t pause to let him for a moment. Instead his friend looked at him, arms encircling and eyes wide open, trusting in a way Sirius wasn’t quite used to seeing on his friend. 

When they finally separated Sirius missed the warmth, that calming feeling had settled in his bones as he’d held Remus close. 

“Do you think...” Remus swallowed. “Are you feeling better?”

Sirius nodded mutely.

“Do you want me to sit with you a bit more?”

In response, Sirius looped his arm across Remus’ back and settled his head on Remus’ shoulder. In the back of his mind he knew it should have felt wrong, but it didn’t really - it felt warm and solid and right. It was quiet for a moment, calm in a way that felt new to Sirius.

“Is this okay?” Sirius asked, breaking the silence between them. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was really asking but he could hear the trepidation in his voice and it sounded strange. Remus didn’t acknowledge it though. Instead he pressed his hand against Sirius’ back until Sirius drifted off into a sleep, lulled there was the soft metronome of Remus’ heartbeat in his ear. He wasn't sure when the other boy left him to sleep, but he woke up many hours later covered by his comforter, a strange warmth from the night before remaining in his chest.

* * *

**\- Year 3 -**

**Late November 1973 - Snowfall**

For November the snow storm was super heavy. It was already sticking several centimeters deep on the ground as all four Marauders headed back to the castle from their first Hogsmeade weekend. They had only recently come up with the name for their brand of mischief, but it suited them well, Sirius thought, as he nibbled on the end of a sugar quill. Beside him, Remus was devouring a bar of Honeydukes finest chocolate like his life depended on it. And perhaps it did, Sirius mused, the full moon had only been a few nights ago after all.

Remus had been convinced he wouldn’t be able to go to Hogsmeade Village - he didn’t think he would recover in time to be able to take the trip. Sirius and James had made it their mission to make sure Remus didn't miss anything due to his Lycanthropy. The quieter boy with scars was an essential part of their mischievous little group after all, and there was nothing they wouldn’t do for him. And that included making sure he was well enough to visit Hogsmeade after a full moon, at the least. In fact, Sirius was already secretly working on a project to help Remus during full moons - he'd recently made enough progress that he thought it was time to bring James into the plot. Once he had James on board, they could rope in Peter and then the Marauders would become a band of true mischief makers.

For the moment though, all he could do was see his friend off once a month in the evening and be there in the morning when he awoke. Remus would be covered in painful looking cuts and exhausted, sometimes alert, but more often than not hurting and delirious with pain until Madam Pomfrey was able to administer him potions. Sometimes on those mornings he’d hold onto Sirius the same way Sirius had held on to him during thunderstorms their second year - as if the other held the cure to all their fears.

A strong, frigid breeze sent snow spiraling down the back of Sirius' neck. He looked around at his mates. Peter was still chattering away beside him, while James walked ahead of them. Sirius smirked as he conjured up a few snowballs lazily with his wand and shot one at James, pelting him right in the face.

“Oi- PRAT!” James exclaimed, “I’ll get you for that!”

“I’d like to see you try!” Sirius egged on, a smile on his face, “or are you too chicken?”

“Oh, it’s on!” James shouted as a snowball landed right in the small of Sirius’ back. He whipped around to see Remus standing there, a small distinctly mischievous smile on his face. Sirius suddenly felt overly warm, even in just his robes. He was surprised that all the snow around him hadn't melted already. Stupid cold snow. Stupid warm body.

“Get him, Remus,” James commanded with a laugh, “paybacks and all that.”

 _Oh it was on!_ Sirius gathered up some ammo of his own and the snowball fight continued in earnest.

The Marauders pelted snowballs at each other, back and forth until they were laughing, cold and soaked with snow. Remus was the first to give up and, already soaked, fell onto his back in the snow before waving his arms and legs about.

“What are you doing?” Sirius asked curiously.

“Making a snow angel,” Remus said, holding out his hand up to Sirius - the warmth of their fingers sparking as Sirius connected their fingers and pulled him to his feet. Remus got up cautiously, careful not to step where he just was, and Sirius looked down to see the outline of Remus’ body in the snow where he’d lain moments before. “You can’t tell me you haven’t made a snow angel before,” Remus smirked.

Sirius shook his head. He had never even heard of a snow angel before this moment. The snow was now coming down so hard it threatened to cover up the masterpiece Remus had just created. 

“What?!” Remus sounded appalled, though his voice never really got all that loud. Without warning Remus fell back into the snow angel he’d just stood up from and pulled Sirius down alongside him, where he landed with a thud. He looked at Remus who gave him a laugh, “C’mon,” he encouraged, “it’s easy. Just move your arms and legs…”

Down in the snow Remus’ voice was almost lost in the soft snowstorm, but Sirius did as instructed, copying the movements he’d seen Remus do moments before. The build up of snow against his back was cold as he pushed large amounts of snow out of the way, but he let out a laugh as the snow piled up on the edges of his limbs. He didn’t know how many times he repeated the motion before he opened his eyes and saw Remus standing in front of him, holding out his hand to help him up.

Sirius reached out to take it and he allowed Remus to pull him to his feet - careful not to step in the center of his newly created snow angel. The two turned to look at it, the piles of snow built up on the sides of the outline of Sirius’ body.

“See, Sirius?” Remus asked, his arm slipping around Sirius’ waist as if to pull him in for a half hug, as if to silently say ‘I’m proud of you,’ “That was easy enough, right?”

“I don’t know.” Sirius smiled teasingly. “I’m pretty knackered now.”

That reply earned him a snowball to the face, but not by Remus. Sirius whipped his head up to see James and Peter standing there, a mischievous look quickly crossing James' face when he realized his snowball had hit its target. “C’mon you two,” James laughed, “let’s get back to the castle and dry off.”

“I thought you two went ahead already,” Sirius said as Remus’ arm fell from his waist. He found he missed the warmth already and his stomach tightened at the loss. 

“And miss the chance to nail you in the face with a snowball?” James laughed again. “Aw, mate, do you know me at all?”

Sirius laughed, both from what James said and to cover up the weird feelings fluttering in his stomach. “I should know better, shouldn’t I?” he asked.

“You really should,” Peter chimed in, “he’s been waiting for an opening.”

“Well we can’t all be perfect, can we?” Sirius chided back.

“Like you are?” Remus challenged, his eyes bright.

“That’s right!” Sirius confirmed, “I can do no wrong.”

“You keep telling yourself that, mate,” James said, shaking his head. 

“Gah- I’m soaked,” Peter whinged as he looked down at his robes.

“Oh, shut it Peter, we all are,” Remus replied, but he was smiling.

“Now boys,” James put on his best imitation Professor McGonagall voice, “What do you say we head back to the castle to get changed and find out what they’re serving for dinner tonight?”

“As long as you cut out that voice,” Sirius smiled, catching up to James, “you sound like a sick cat.”

“And how do you know what a sick cat sounds like?” James asked as Peter offered, “I hope it’s fried chicken.” They all turned to look at him.

“What? For dinner!” Peter defended whine still in his voice, causing the other three to laugh as the conversation turned to the Hogwarts dinner menu. Sirius opened his mouth to add a quip or two of his own, but not before he spared one last glance back at Remus, surrounded by the snow, the outline of their snow angels still visible on the ground behind him, giving him a sort of halo that made the normally unassuming werewolf look rather majestic.

* * *

**\- Year 4 -**

**Early December 1974 - Raindrops**

December at Hogwarts meant two things, Quidditch and Christmas break, but a quick glimpse out the common room window and it was obvious to Sirius why everyone was inside. 

Sirius abandoned James and Peter in the common room to find Remus - the two were loudly discussing various Christmas family traditions and Sirius found it all rather disgusting. 

There were a million other things he’d rather do than spend Christmas at the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. Taking the Cruciatus Curse might even be one of them. Being near his mother was more torturous anyway, he thought, probably. Even though it had been years since he had been home for a Black Christmas, the thought still put him on edge. He barged into his dorm with a loud clang - the racket not as upsetting when he was the source - causing Remus to look up from the book he was reading.

“Sirius?!” Remus asked, surprise in his tone. "What are you doing back? I thought you were with James and Peter in the common room."

“Those gits were talking about Christmas plans-”

 _“Again_ _,”_ he and Remus chorused together.

“C’mon, Moony,” Sirius teased, using Remus’ new nickname. In reality he and James had secretly been calling Remus by the nickname for a while now. It had started as a joke while they discussed their plan to become Animagi. Moony was Remus’ alternate identity. They all hoped to have one eventually, but until this summer, when James and Remus planned to complete the Animagus spell, it was meant to be a secret. The nickname was just too much fun though, so Sirius just couldn’t help but bestow it on Remus early.

Sirius continued, “I always stay here over Christmas, and the full is the 28th. You’re better off staying here too.” He left the “since you know you’ll need me there afterwards” unsaid, but he could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Remus had a habit of going to Sirius for comfort after the moons. They didn’t talk about it much - it was more a quiet understanding, and Sirius was perfectly fine with that. More than fine when he gave himself time to think about it. Which he tried not to do _too_ much. Casually brushing back his hair, Sirius threw himself onto Remus’ bed, causing the other boy to finally close his book, his finger marking his place.

“Oi! You’re impossible, Sirius,” Remus lamented, reaching over to mock thwack him with his copy of _T _he_ Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4_. “How many times do we have to talk about this?” 

“Does that mean you’ll stay?” Sirius shot him what he felt might look like a dashing smile, but was really just uncontrollable joy at the thought. 

“I’ll think about it,” the promise was small, but soft.

Despite the bubbles of happiness that caused in Sirius’ chest, he continued to whine, “Moony! You’re my only hope. James and Peter want to abandon me here to spend the hols with their families. Without you I’ll bloody die of boredom!” 

“And we couldn’t possibly allow that to happen now, can we?”

“Nah!” Sirius smiled, propping himself up on his forearms on the bed, “You’d miss me too much.”

That earned Sirius a shove with the book’s spine before Remus rolled his eyes and ended up looking over at the window where the rain poured steadily outside. It wasn’t a thunderstorm, and it wasn’t quite cold enough to be snow, so it was this odd in-between mixture of the two that turned all of the grounds outside to slushy mud.

“Would I now?”

“Of course!” Sirius shifted so he was now laying on his side. “Who wouldn’t miss me?”

“Indeed,” Remus mused dryly, looking Sirius up and down, “your ego knows no bounds, does it?”

“Would you really want it to?”

Remus let out a laugh at that as he paused, pretending to think about it. 

“Sirius!” James’ voice was loud as he swung open the door to their dorm, entering like a hurricane, causing Sirius to jump a little and roll off the edge of Remus’ bed with a slight ‘thunk’ on the floor. “Peter had this thought. Over Christmas-” he cut himself off as he noticed Sirius wasn’t alone.

Remus was staring in Sirius’ direction, his eyes questioning but his soft smile genuine as Sirius rushed himself up to sitting on the floor like nothing had happened and countered James’ boisterous entrance with a bright, “JAMES! Guess what? Remus has just agreed to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas! Now you don’t have to worry about me.” By now, Sirius had long discovered that if he was the loudest person in the room, no one had cause to be louder. That kept his fears mostly under control. But his heart was already pounding anyway - whether that was from his own fear or Moony's lack of agreement to stay, he couldn't really say.

“Too late, mate,” James quipped back with a smile, “I’ll always worry about you.”

Sirius didn’t miss Remus’ eye roll at that as James went over to his bed and grabbed his broom. “You’re going to play Quidditch? _Now?_ In this mess?” Sirius asked, looking over at the weird hail-like rain that was pelting on the window.

“Why not?” James smiled. “Pete already pointed out there would be no one else on the field.”

“Uh, maybe because it’s raining something awful out there, mate?” 

“Drying charms, Sirius. Seriously, ever heard of them?”

“That joke gets older and older every time you use it,” Sirius warned but smiled anyway. 

“No matter what form it takes,” Remus said quietly from the bed. Softly, like no one was supposed to hear it. Sirius turned to look at him.

“Ah, you love it,” James said offhandedly, grabbing his quidditch sweater and tugging it on, “I’m off to get some extra practice in.” And with that he was off - the door swinging shut behind him.

“Think Peter was trying to seduce that third year again?” Remus said with a smile, “what’s her name? Clarissa?”

“I think it was Charlemagne?” Sirius shook his head, he didn’t see what Peter found so interesting in birds. James as well, for that matter. Girls were okay and all, but they didn’t get him all hot and bothered like they seemed to do for Pete and James. He just didn’t get all the fuss, he supposed, even though he felt like he ought to, which sometimes caused his stomach to tie up in nervous knots when he thought about it too long. Remus didn’t talk about girls much, but they all assumed that was due to his “furry little problem” - despite James' insistence he’d still be able to pull any girl he wanted to anyway. Sirius didn’t like _that_ thought either - another thing he didn’t allow himself to think about for too long.

“Charlemagne?!” Remus chuckled, “No, I don’t think that’s right, Sirius.”

Sirius shrugged. “It doesn’t much matter what her name is. Besides, I feel like if he was, James would have told us - he wouldn't have wanted to miss out on a good spying opportunity after all. I can’t believe that git is going to play quidditch in the rain.” Sirius shuddered at that before turning to Remus. “What’s all the fuss about it anyway? Clarissa, Charlemagne - either way she’s just his flavor of the month. Seems lately Peter has a crush on a new bird every week. I bet after Christmas it will all be over and Pete will have moved on to the next lucky lady.”

Remus didn’t acknowledge this, merely reopened his book and started to read, much to Sirius’ chagrin. He stood up and then flopped back down on the other boy's bed in hopes of distracting him. “Do you have to be such a stick in the mud right now?” he whined. “Exams aren’t even-”

“Yeah, I’m a _stick in the mud_ _,”_ Remus rolled his eyes in annoyance, “Excuse you - who helped plan the prank last week against the Slytherins?”

“You-”

“And _who_ figured out how to get into the kitchens?”

“Well, _technically_ _,_ James, but you’re the one who tried it-”

“And _who_ helped you and James _both_ get a passing grade on your last potion?”

“That’s not really fair-”

“No what’s not really fair, Sirius, is that all of that was made possible because I like to _read._ So, yeah, I’m a stick in the mud.” Remus made a face.

“Are you really angry about that?” Sirius asked, moving closer towards Remus.

“Nah-” Remus sighed, “I’m just getting really sick of you all picking on me all the time because I have Ravenclaw studying tendencies. I’m a Gryffindor first.”

Sirius didn’t even have to think about that to agree that it was true. Hell, most days the other boy had more courage than Sirius did. Between the two of them, Sirius privately thought it wasn’t Remus who had been sorted incorrectly. “I know that!” he said defensively.

Remus grinned at him, “Then don’t treat me like a right-git for wanting to study.”

“Oi - Moony,” Sirius sat back down on Remus’ bed. “When have I ever done that?”

Remus rolled his eyes again.

“Okay, okay, you got me,” Sirius playfully surrendered, sitting up and knocking his knee against the other boys’ leg.

Remus’ eyebrows shot up at the contact, making him look older than his fourteen years.

“What?” Sirius whined, pulling his leg up and hugging his knee to his chest while letting his other dangle off the side of the bed, feeling an odd warmth jump from his knee into his chest. He pulled his knee in closer - he was pretty certain he wasn’t supposed to be feeling anything from their brief touch but he couldn’t stop the tingling and warmth from spreading like fiendfyre throughout his body.

“Nothing,” Remus replied, letting his gaze soften. There was a brief comfortable silence, so quiet Sirius could hear the pitter of the hail-like rain against the sil. Then, “Tell me again about why I should stay here for Christmas?”

And like that the tension was broken and a mischievous grin took over Sirius’ face and he began to lay out all his Christmas schemes and plans he had set for the two of them.

* * *

**\- Year 5 -**

**Mid September 1975 - Thunderstorm**

James pulled his invisibility cloak off of them. "It's going to rain," Peter observed yet again while wringing his hands and looking up to a sky full of dense, black clouds. His nerves were clearly getting to him, even before they had gotten close enough to start hearing the screams.

James didn’t say anything as he folded the cloak and shrank it before stowing it away inside his robe.They had discussed things and had decided that Sirius would be in charge of all the "Remus business." 

“What’s wrong, Pete?” Sirius called, “afraid you’re going to get wet and melt?” He was teasing, burying his own fears under the cavalier attitude all while hoping that the coming storm would be more bearable as a dog. 

“More afraid we’re gonna get caught, more like,” James clapped Peter on the back, “don’t worry so much, mate - the rain will wash away our tracks and no one is back in the dorm to discover we’re missing.”

“Alright, boys!” Sirius called to his mates, “We’re doing this for Moony - let’s give him the easiest moon we can. Peter, you know what to do.”

And with that short pep-talk Sirius watched as Peter transformed into a rat and scurried towards the whomping willow. After a minute or so - it was a long way to the trunk for Peter's tiny form - Peter made it to the knot and the tree calmed considerably. James locked eyes with Sirius a moment before he transformed into a majestic stag and trotted off toward the tunnel under the tree. 

Sirius stood there an extra minute, looking up at the sky. The full moon was hardly visible - the sky was so cloudy, but Sirius knew it was there - Remus’ screams just moments before told him so. It had been really hard to stand so close to the shack and hear them, knowing there was nothing he could do, at least not this time. He’d wanted to be there when Remus transformed, but James had talked him out of it. “Not our first night out,” he’d said, “we don’t know what could happen and if we’re not telling him until after - we can be there at the start next month, Sirius.” The logic had been sound at the time, but now it felt awful. And with the sky threatening to drown them in thunder and lightning, Sirius felt an odd sense of foreboding suddenly creep over him as he transformed and dashed under the whomping willow, the tree reanimating the moment he disappeared beneath it.

Once inside, Sirius caught up with James and Peter. He briefly nosed the air to take in their now familiar scent, but a much stronger scent permeated the air around him. Remus, his canine mind told him, but there was something different about the scent. Remus, who was now as much of an animal as he was, had a much sharper scent. Notes that Sirius didn't even consciously know his Remus smelled like - warm cinnamon, tea leaves, and the aroma of old books all rolled into one. It was intoxicating and assaulted Sirius’ newly sensitive nose. With a sniff Sirius made his way towards the wolf with more confidence than he thought he could. It was a boldness only a dog could have when seeking out his mate. 

As he got closer the commotion got louder, the howls stronger, Sirius found his now highly sensitive ears picked up and zoomed in on every sound as he moved towards Moony. All the scents and noises of the shack assaulted his canine senses all at once as he crossed the threshold - earth, dirt, rain, blood, animal, and a hint of cinnamon - it was all here and in his nose, his ears, under his skin. But still he padded on forward. 

For Remus, Sirius thought to himself, you can.

They entered the room as a pack.

A flash of lightning lit up the room with a bright light that illuminated the outline of Moony. The wolf was large, certainly larger than Sirius, and he gazed upon the new animals in his space with some confusion. _Pack_ , Sirius thought towards him and crouched down, instincts taking over to do everything that he could to make sure Remus recognized them as his pack. He sprawled himself out to show his submissive state in front of the other animal, hoping James and Peter were doing the same. They had talked about this beforehand - he and James had done some studying up on werewolf packs. They knew they had to become Moony’s before they could help control him.

Sirius rolled over onto his back to show his belly to the beast that was his friend, hoping that would help Moony to see that he could be trusted. The werewolf hadn’t attacked yet, which meant he didn’t think they were a threat to his territory nor did he think they were prey to be bitten. A few minutes passed that way, Sirius could smell when the rain started to fall, before he felt something brush against his fur as Moony’s nose swept along his side, causing Sirius to roll over so he was back on his stomach. He looked up expecting to see the wolf beside him, sniffing him, but Moony had moved on to the large stag beside Sirius, and then the rat, perched in his antlers. Apparently satisfied that the new trio of animals were no threat, it was then that the wolf started violently throwing himself against the doorway to escape - all traces of distraction from his new animal companions forgotten.

Sirius ran around the wolf’s feet, trying to pull him from the door. He didn’t want the wolf to get out. Come play with me, he thought, his tail wagging behind him. Chase! he barked, but the distraction was small and the wolf wanted to escape badly. The wolf continued to charge at the door frame as Sirius repeatedly ran in circles - his mind was so different as a dog. He wasn't sure how much time had passed in this way, but after a while James apparently had had enough because the large stag suddenly shoved himself between the wolf and the door, causing Moony to fly backwards with a yelp, just barely missing landing on top of Sirius.

The wolf righted himself and growled, Remus’ mind trapped deep inside this creature. Sirius knew the wolf’s instincts were telling him to find a way outside - even with the new companions it didn’t seem like they would be enough to full distract-

A loud clap of thunder caused Sirius to jump and whimper. The noise rattled his brain, ten times worse than it ever was when he was a human, so loud and frightening. He cowered under his paws.

He could feel James’ antlers try to lift him up, but they felt sharp and odd and offered little relief. When a new thunderclap boomed, he tucked his head deeper.

It was impossible to even try and count the seconds between the lightning and thunder. He couldn't even see the lightning while hiding his head, but he couldn't uncover his head because the thunder was so much louder than it should have been-

He felt something cold under his paw.

Slowly unfolding himself, Sirius saw Moony’s muzzle trying to lift up his paw and rub it against his neck in an odd form of… comfort?

Could Moony tell he was scared? Could he tell he was Sirius?

The thought seemed utterly preposterous and yet here his friend was. 

Lightning burst through the room again as the rain poured outside, illuminating the broken furniture, the old four poster bed frame and some other strange oddities in the space. It cast shadows on the walls and made the room suddenly feel incredibly small. No wonder the wolf wanted out. 

But not in this storm. Sirius knew he couldn’t be allowed to escape. The noises were threatening to him and he wouldn’t be able to control the wolf anyway, whose sympathies for him had appeared to run out. Sirius watched Moony pace angrily back and forth in the room, like he was stalking prey, eyes looking vicious.

Sirius looked desperately at James for help but the stag just shook his head, Sirius didn’t even know if his thoughts, muddled enough as they were as a dog, were even able to be read on his face to get through to James. 

The thunder was loud once again - every instinct instructing Sirius to flee, loud noises assaulting him as the wolf began to growl, adding to the mess of sounds. With a yelp the wolf leapt forward. For a moment Sirius thought he was going to land on top of him but there was a whimpering-cry as the wolf was forcefully pushed back and landed by the doorframe, looking temporarily stunned. 

Sirius righted himself in time to see James lift up his head, some blood on his antlers. He’d stepped in between the two just in time to send the werewolf crashing. Sirius was able to see movement behind the stag, the wolf attempting to get up, but the movements were slower now. 

Sirius used the opportunity to cross the room towards the wolf. He looked at the mess of fur matted with some fresh blood as the metallic smell filled his nose. He didn’t slow down at that though, he'd tried submission earlier in the night - now time to try something else. A different tactic. Lording over the werewolf he stepped close and bit down on his scruff and held. The wolf gave a couple of shakes before Sirius dropped him, wondering what would happen next.

And he watched, almost in slow motion, as Moony rolled over onto his back in surrender.

 _Victory!_ Sirius’ mind exploded, on a high of alpha-dominance that was so powerful even the thunderclap outside couldn’t tamper it all down. He’d gotten the wolf to surrender. They might be well on their way to creating a pack!

The storm carried on outside through the night, but as the thunderous sounds receded some outside the screams on the inside picked up and all three friends watched in horror as their friend’s body was ripped apart and put back together - limbs reforming with brutal cuts, scratches and bruises maring his pale skin. Remus looked so small laying on the floor like that, Sirius found it hard to believe he’d been the ferocious looking wolf mere minutes before.

The storm clouds may have cleared outside with the rise of the sun, but the rain still fell as he, James and Peter reverted back to their human forms - Remus comatose on the floor between them, red blood coloring his skin that was marred black and blue.

“Help me get him to the bed,” James said, he was the first to find his voice, “C’mon, Sirius, can you help me lift him up?”

Sirius nodded. It took some doing but they managed to lift him up onto the bed.

“I can’t believe you two didn’t levitate him,” Peter’s voice cut through the room sharply as the rain pattered off the roof.

“Where was that idea a few minutes ago, Pete?” James hissed, looking back at him. 

Peter shrugged. “I figured you two were wizards…”

James just shook his head, collecting himself up. “We better get back before Madam Pomfrey comes down to collect him. We can visit him in the hospital wing when he wakes up.”

“You two go on ahead.” Sirius looked down at Remus. “I’ll be right behind you.”

James glanced between him and the broken boy laying on the bed. “Okay mate. But then you take the cloak.” He tossed the fabric over to Sirius. “We’ll make sure we don’t get caught heading back up. C’mon, Peter,” he said, and the two disappeared out the door the wolf had been flinging himself at for a good portion of the night.

As they disappeared down the tunnel back up towards Hogwarts, Sirius closed his eyes and tried to remember the night before. He knew there were events that happened, but now transformed and human it was all a blur of loud sounds - from the storm as well as the wolf - a cacophony of smells, and other instinctual fight or flight type memories. He remembered the wolf trying to get him off the floor at one point, and he remembered standing over Moony to assert his dominant side. He remembered the smell of his pack, and he knew Moony must have sensed it even more strongly - the wolf’s senses were probably even more heightened than his were as a dog.

Sirius looked over at Remus sleeping on the bed, his chest rising and falling in the sun's early light. The scratches and scars all over his body laid bare. He wished he knew more healing charms and made a mental note to learn some. Sirius resisted the urge to reach out and push Remus’ hair back as he slept on, looking more peaceful than he should for the ordeal they had just experienced. 

With a sigh, Sirius vowed to himself in that moment that Remus would never have to experience a full moon night alone ever again. 

It was with that thought that Remus’ eye blinked open and he let out a pained sound. “S-Sirius?” he croaked with some surprise and fear, "what- what are you doing here?! You could- What- You could have been killed!"

Sirius took a breath and, making the decision in the moment, transformed, lowering his head as he approached Remus on his belly, traversing the mattress inch by inch. Slowly, with some trepidation, he watched as Moony cautiously lifted his hands, as if in disbelief, and reached out to pat Sirius’ head.

“You-” Remus muttered in disbelief, the sound was soft but blared in Sirius’ dog ears, “You’re an Animagus...”

His voice trailed off and they stayed like that for a moment before Sirius transformed back and pulled himself up against Remus’ side. “Not just me,” he confessed, “James and Peter just left a little bit ago.”

“I thought, I thought something was different about last night,” Remus confessed slowly, “I thought I could smell- I thought I felt… But how did you know that I wouldn’t kill you?”

“Well, we only had guesses,” Sirius tried to smile but suddenly felt out of his depth, his confidence circling the drain rapidly, “but we guessed right. You even submitted to me- as the wolf, I mean.” He rushed the words together so fast he couldn’t find his next ones. “We’ll- I mean we will- together we can-”

“Pack,” Remus got out, amazement in his tone despite his broken physical state.

“Yeah,” Sirius said, feeling his shoulders relax and his body calm, setting his hand on top of Remus’. “Exactly.”

Silence fell as the rain continued to patter on the roof. Neither boy moved their hand as they looked at each other. Sirius felt something build in his chest that made his heart speed up, as it did every time they touched, but this time he dismissed it as protectiveness, an urge to make sure Remus knew that he was part of his pack. Sirius’ chosen family trumped his real one after all.

That’s all it was... right? 

“You better get back,” Remus whispered, as if afraid to break the moment, “Madam Pomfrey will be along soon.”

Sirius nodded but made no motion to move, as if the night still hung in the air between them. Sirius looked down at Remus. “James gave me the cloak,” he said by way of explanation and Remus nodded, though the motion looked like it caused him a lot of pain. “I will stay until she comes.”

Sirius knew that later on, when Remus was in the hospital wing and more recovered from the night’s events, Remus would have a lot of questions for him. About Animagi, about possible injuries, about next month’s full moon, and yes, Sirius was sure he would even ask about the thunder and if it had scared Sirius when he’d been a dog. That last one would be asked in a soft voice with a wry smile after everyone else had gone. And Sirius would answer him truthfully. But for now, an oddly comfortable silence settled over them as the rain continued to pour - their hands only leaving one another’s when Madam Pomfrey finally made her way down the tunnel and Sirius was forced to pull on the cloak.

* * *

**\- Year 6 -**

**Late March 1977 - Ice Storm**

Sirius stood in his dorm and stared out the window. There was nothing to see but white - an ice storm had taken everyone by surprise when it started yesterday, one week after the March's full moon, and continued to rage, petrifying everything in a layer of ice - but he still stood and stared, his hand resting against the glass. It was bitterly cold against his palm, but he remained. The whole world seemed to be frozen and time was trying to freeze in place, holding on to the worst full moon of Sirius’ life.

Maybe things had gotten out of hand with Snivellus. Sirius was prepared to accept that much if it made Remus talk to him again.

The door to his dorm room slammed open, James standing in the frame and looking pissed. “I’m sick and tired of being your messenger boy!” James insisted, “I don’t care if you don’t become friends again, but you and Remus need to have it out so both of you can stop abusing me and using me as your bloody go-between!”

“Tell him that,” Sirius said, words coming out more calmly and apathetically then he felt, “I tried talking to him. He doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“For bloody damn good reason, Black.” James must have been truly, royally pissed if he was using Sirius' last name. He never called him that. “Fucking hell - you nearly let him kill someone!”

“But he didn’t, did he?”

“NOT THE POINT!” James roared, causing Sirius to slink back. His stomach sank like a bag of bricks and he wondered if there would ever be a time in his life where people didn’t yell at him like that. Not that he hadn't fucked it all up this time. “How could you?!” James looked at him with anger in his eyes, flashing brightly, “you owe him an apology!”

“I tried to give him one-”

“Well try harder, _Black_ ,” James insisted, as cold as the weather outside, “because until you do I am kicking you out of this dorm.”

“What?” Sirius said, “You can’t do that! Where will I go?”

“You found a place when your parents disowned you - you’ll figure something out. Or you can apologize.” 

That was a low blow, even from James, and it made Sirius’ insides cringe, but he probably deserved it. Still, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “I came to you,” he reminded James, “you’re like family. You really are my only family. You, me, Rem…” his voice trailed off at that - his heart sinking so low that he didn’t even feel like doubling back and adding Peter to the list.

“Yes, and family forgives each other,” James got out, “if you apologize and get him to listen, really listen, Sirius, and let him talk too, maybe I will forgive you. But _please_ , let him have it out with you.”

“But he won’t talk to me!” Sirius insisted, “I’ve tried, I-”

“Did you say the words ‘I’m sorry’?” James asked, looking Sirius in the eye.

“No,” Sirius confessed, ashamed, “I was working up to that.”

“Well, perhaps lead with it next time!” James hissed, reaching into the pocket of his robes and pulling out a tattered piece of parchment which he tossed at Sirius. "I'm bloody pissed at you too, don't forget."

“Yes, I know,” Sirius sighed as he went to retrieve the Marauder's Map from the floor before slowly walking towards the door. “Sirius - the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black’s greatest fuck up.”

“Oh please, you’re not even part of that house anymore.” James' eyes narrowed as Sirius passed, holding a hint of sadness, but he didn’t say anything more. 

The halls were warmed by magic, but the abandoned classroom that Sirius found Remus in was as frigid as the ice storm outside. Remus must have been practicing some spells, and upon Sirius' entry he turned around, wand raised, and pointed it right at Sirius' chest. Sirius drew in a deep breath. 

“Explain to me why I shouldn’t hex you into next week!” Remus asked, face frozen in fury, his eyes cold.

“I’m sorry.” All other words failed Sirius as he crumbled. “I am so, so sorry.”

“For what?” Remus asked, “What are you apologizing _for?! ”_

Sirius was silent at that.

“You don’t even know, do you?” Remus cried, “You don’t even know what you _did._ What could have happened to me! Did you stop to think, for even two seconds, what would happen-”

“I didn’t know he would follow you!” Sirius cried out, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He felt like he was grasping at straws, but he’d become used to the feeling - no one should be able to save him now.

“Bull shite!” Remus called out, slashing his wand down to his side. 

Sirius was silent at that, swallowing down the guilt that had threatened to drown him for days now and the fear from Moony _yelling_ at him like that, causing the blood to rush to his head so it roared in his ears. He might not have considered that Snivellus would follow Remus when he first told him, but Sirius knew that Snape had been watching, waiting, monitoring - like he wanted to get Remus all to himself. 

“-how could you, Sirius! How _could you?_ What would have happened-”

“I couldn’t handle it anymore!” Sirius burst out suddenly. “He was always watching you - waiting around every corner, like he used to do with Evans and-”

“And _what,_ Sirius? Do you really think I couldn’t defend myself?” Remus let out a cold laugh. “Did you really think I didn’t notice he was watching me?”

That question brought Sirius up short. He’d thought for sure he was the only one who had noticed because he felt certain that he _himself_ was the only one who watched Remus in that way. It was just a protection thing or so he told himself - a desire to make sure nothing happened to him and nobody ever hurt-

 _But it really isn’t_ , his mind betrayed him, _you know it’s more…_

Lying to himself wasn’t really working all that well anymore.

“You should know"—Remus got up close to Sirius's face, teeth bared, anger clear on his face—"that it doesn’t even matter if he was watching me or not, you stupid, bloody, idiotic, moron!”

And then Remus’ lips were on his, kissing Sirius desperately, angrily, like he was his last tether to life. Strong hands landed on his waist, grabbing him like he was the only thing that was keeping Remus tied to this world. Their lips crushed together in a desperate dance and Remus pushed Sirius backwards, pressing him back against a large window. The cold glass, frosted from the raging ice storm outside, was a shock to Sirius' body, but then a warm tongue was demanding entrance to his mouth and all else was forgotten.

And Sirius found himself opening up and kissing back. 

For a moment, a blissful moment, they froze together - fused into one by the ferociousness of the kiss. And then the moment was broken and Remus pulled back.

“Wh- what?” Sirius’ voice was soft as he looked into Remus’ dark eyes, confusion, hope and strained affection rolled up in his tone.

“There is only one person who I care to have watch me, you bloody idiot,” Remus’ tone was serious but also much calmer now, “and it’s not bloody Severus Snape.” His voice dropped to low levels on that admission, but Sirius heard them like he’d yelled them. He felt his blood run cold.

“How-” Sirius started but Remus interrupted him with a cold laugh.

“How what, Sirius? How long? How can I forgive you? How can I watch the boy I’ve liked for six bloody years rip my heart out and step all over it before he even knew he held it?”

Sirius’ mouth dropped open at that. “Six years?” he whispered, feeling something in his chest break open.

Remus nodded, his eyes dropping to the floor now. “I think you better go now,” he whispered.

“What?” Sirius asked confused, “why would I-”

“Because I am a right wreck right now and I don’t want to see you,” Remus cried, his tone letting Sirius know just how deadly serious he was. “I don’t want to do something I’ll regret.”

“And what would you regret?” Sirius asked, cautiously taking a step forward towards the other boy, setting his sense of self-preservation aside and letting his reckless nature come through. “Would you regret this?” 

Sirius leaned forward and kissed him again. This time, though it was softer and sweeter, it was also laced with a pain that felt a little like heartbreak - or what he thought he knew to be heartbreak. Kissing Marlene McKinnon in the Astronomy Tower had nothing on this - it felt so much deeper - things the two of them had left unspoken for years rising up to the surface as they leaned into each other with equal give and take, matching each other perfectly - their frustration and anger draining the longer the kiss lingered.

As they pulled away they both looked at each other in the dim light. Sirius felt something flutter in his chest combined with the urge to run, but he stood there with the crushing force bearing down on him - a feeling like he was Apparating but really he was standing still in the middle of the room…

“I don’t regret that.” Remus’ admission was like the pull of a drain plug as all the anxiety rushed through Sirius’ body and down to the floor. He looked down at his shoes before chancing a glance back up.

“So,” he ventured, “what do we do now?”

In response Remus leaned down and kissed him.

* * *

**\- Year 7 -**

**Early May 1978 - Star Shower**

Stepping out onto the top of the Astronomy Tower, Sirius allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. As Padfoot he would have been able to see perfectly, but he didn’t make it a habit of transforming in the castle anymore - even under James’ invisibility cloak. He and James had learned that the hard way when they tried to sneak into the potions storage room to steal some ingredients and James’ antlers had ended up smashing two shelves and breaking several bottles. They’d barely made it out of there in one piece - and wouldn't have if Moony hadn't found them and used the map to get them all back to Gryffindor Tower.

Remus. Sirius smiled thinking about him. They had been going out for a little over a year now, and Sirius still couldn’t believe how lucky he was. They had told James ages ago, of course, who had been nothing but accepting. And anything James knew Lily knew too - which left the task of telling Peter who was also informed soon after - but telling too many other people just felt too risky. Sirius didn't miss the looks of hot jealousy Remus would shoot Sirius’ way when birds would hit on him - and Sirius did have to fend off the girls with a rather long stick this year. An apparently single, pureblood seventh year with his good looks definitely earned him more than a few admirers. 

But Sirius only had eyes for Remus. The prejudices of the wizarding world were just too intense, and with Remus’ condition… Sirius couldn't finish the thought without anger consuming him. They had walked down that path and together decided it was best to keep things as quiet as possible between the two of them. Their friends all knew anyway, that didn’t leave many people left for them to tell. 

But tonight was going to be different - instead of sneaking around corners and hiding under cover of darkness, Sirius had arranged something special. From under the invisibility he anxiously looked for an unoccupied corner of the Astronomy Tower that he could wait in. It was harder to do than it should have been - the spring night promised a meteor shower and it appeared at least half the student body wanted to stay up to watch it. 

Sirius blinked as he located a vacant alcove and moved there, sliding down the castle wall to sit on the floor, shifting the cloak around himself so he wasn’t visible. When Remus had told Sirius he didn’t want to miss what promised to be the cosmic phenomenon of the year, Sirius had hatched his plan as carefully as he could. He knew Moony would find him on the map and be along shortly. He tucked his wand away and waited, thoughts swirling around in his head.

NEWTs were soon, and once they were over they’d be out in the world - grown adults. James had even proposed to Evans - as such Sirius supposed he should call her Lily now - but if that wasn’t a sign they were getting older, nothing was. As much as he tried not to think too much about the future, he knew it was inevitable and had been giving it a bit of thought lately. He knew he had to make some plans, and that was part of his plan for the night, but he also couldn’t believe their seventh year was ending. He thought he’d be in school forever-

“Is this spot taken?” Remus’ voice cut through Sirius’ thoughts, as he looked down at an invisible Sirius with a grin. 

Sirius lifted a corner of the cloak, feeling instantly happier with his werewolf near. “Get in here,” he said, smile in his voice, “or people will think you’re crazy talking to nothing.” He let out a laugh, letting Remus under the cloak to get situated in his lap. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and pulled him close to his chest.

“Nah,” Remus said with an equally happy grin, scooting backwards. It was a tight fit with the two of them under the cloak but all the better excuse to snuggle up tighter. “I set up a silencing charm. We’re safe.”

“Oh good,” Sirius said, boldly teasing, as he leaned forward and snogged Remus on the corner of his lips. “Are you ready for the show then?”

“Mhm.” Remus gave him a small smile that reminded Sirius of when he first saw him back in first year. "This is sweet of you," he said. “And speaking of sweet, I even brought concessions," he added, pulling out two chocolate bars from his robe pocket.

“You and chocolate!” Sirius laughed. “You’re sweeter, you know.” He leaned forward and nuzzled Remus’ ear, causing the other man to giggle - the sound quelling his anxieties about the future and jolting Sirius back into the present - filling him up with a warm fuzziness he felt down to his toes.

“Yeah, yeah,” Remus swatted back verbally but leaned farther into Sirius. “If I’m going to take a night off from studying, I better make it worth my while.”

Sirius laughed out loud to try and mask the tightness he felt in his chest as he loosened his hold slightly. “Just call it studying the stars.”

“Only if that means I get to study you.” Remus turned to look at him. “You are my favorite subject after all. My favorite star too.”

“Why do you think I borrowed the cloak?” Sirius smiled dangerously, mischief in his eyes, even as his insides morphed into a gooey mush.

“Oh you are terrible!” Remus laughed. “You're such a horndog. You'll get us caught.”

“Hey, I’m already disowned,” Sirius shrugged, “what more can they do to me?”

Remus sighed. “I’d rather not find out,” he replied seriously. 

Sirius’ smile dropped for just a second, his mind stalling. All he wanted was to be worth it to Remus. He never wanted their time together to be strained or tainted with the horrors of his past. He wanted to be good enough, brave enough, Gryffindor enough-

“What’s wrong?” Remus asked, turning his head back to Sirius.

“Nothing.”

“Liar. You forget I can always tell,” Remus said with a concerned look in his eyes. Sirius tried to smile back. "Look up at the sky, Sirius,” Remus instructed, even as he turned to face Sirius. “It's dull and empty and black, but you're not a Black any more. You're a star." Remus smiled at him, love in his eyes shining brighter than any star Sirius had ever seen. "You're the most beautiful star out there. And unlike the moon, which comes and goes, you're always there when I look."

Sirius’ heart was hammering so hard in his ribcage he felt sure it was going to beat out of his chest as Moony kissed him gently and turned back in his lap to look up at the sky. Sirius pulled him tight and rested his head on his shoulder. Together they watched as the first meteor fell, lighting up the darkened sky above them with a streak of intense bright white.

“Make a wish,” Sirius encouraged, pulling Remus in closer and kissing his cheek, his heart feeling full of love, “you should always make a wish on the first shooting star.”

Moony closed his eyes for a second, his long lashes hitting his cheeks, before he opened them and turned his head to look back at Sirius.

“What did you wish for?” Sirius asked, smiling.

“If I tell you that, it won’t come true.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Sirius pulled his werewolf close. “You had to have wished for _something_ good.”

“Are you going to share your wish?” Remus asked with a mock sweetness. “That’s what I thought,” he added with a small laugh when Sirius didn’t reply.

“I didn’t make a wish,” Sirius answered honestly, squeezing Moony’s torso. “Why would I wish for something when I already have everything I’ve ever wanted?”

“Oh, what a charmer,” Moony replied between laughs. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“Nope!” Sirius grinned. “Just my Moony.” 

Remus smiled and relaxed into him at that, pressing his back into Sirius’ chest. Sirius could feel the tension leave him as they snuggled up together. They stayed in silence for a while, Sirius hugging Remus in close, resting his head on top of Remus’, as the meteors continued to fall overhead. There was only a sliver of the moon that could be seen on the horizon and that made the falling stars all the more beautiful and bright against the darkness. But as they continued their descent across the canvas of the night sky, Sirius found he was struggling to keep his eyes on them, when Remus was so warm and real in his arms. 

Sirius had meant every word, Remus could have picked anyone, and perhaps should have picked someone else, besides him - someone smarter, someone less impulsive, perhaps even someone more deserving of Remus’ love. Sometimes it still felt like a miraculous thing that Remus would want him like this - that Remus was his and his alone. Sirius tightened his hold, vowed and determined to show Remus how much that meant to him until the day he died. 

As the meteor shower neared it’s finale, Sirius watched as Moony took a bite of his chocolate bar - his mouth caressing the sweet treat before passing it back to Sirius to share. Letting some of the sweetness dissolve on his tongue, Sirius contemplated how comfortable he felt - how right it was being with this other man he adored beyond all reason. Suddenly the future didn’t seem as daunting as it once did - he felt a spark of hope inside of him. Maybe he’d been silly to get so worked up over talking to Remus about what their future looked like. Feeling suddenly bold, Sirius buried his head in his boyfriend’s hair.

“Mm, Moons,” he said, rubbing his cheek against the silk strands, “about after Hogwarts…”

“Hm?” Remus asked.

“Move in with me.”

Silence stretched between them as Sirius reached out to hold his boyfriend’s hands in his own, squeezing them. He felt his anxiety threaten to rise, but he pushed it back down.

“Padfoot-”

“No, hear me out,” Sirius begged. He was through thinking about this - he just needed to get it all out, and hoped Moony would agree. “Please. I’ve been thinking about this and it makes sense. Mr. and Mrs. Prongs will be getting their own place, and Peter is moving in with his cousin or some such, and that leaves you and me, and it will be easier if we live together. Plus then, you don’t have to worry so much about getting a job right away. I know you don’t want to take charity-” Sirius countered before Remus could open his mouth, “but don’t think of it that way. I have spent the past seven years seeing you every day. I don’t want to go back to even seven days without seeing you.”

“But-” 

Sirius shook his head and sighed as he fought the urge to run his fingers through Remus’ hair. He laced them between Remus’ fingers instead - palm to palm. “We can get a two bedroom place if you’re concerned. No one ever needs to know.” He nudged Remus to turn in his lap to face him and looked deep into Moony's eyes. “Look I’ve thought about this and-”

Remus’ lips were on his then, pushing him back into the castle wall, causing the fire in his chest to melt everything else away until all that remained were the two of them. Sirius always felt this connection when they kissed, like a bright thread that led them to each other. A connection that could sometimes also be communicated through looks, hand holding, or other small or simple interactions. But he felt it most when they connected on this level - an intimacy Sirius had never felt with anyone else. It was like even their innermost animal instincts recognized the other.

Remus continued to snog him as the meteor shower passed by overhead and the night sky cleared. Being careful not to shift the cloak too much, he leaned into Sirius as he pressed their bodies together. It was a dance they had long mastered over time, which ignited a strong passion inside of Sirius he could not ignore. It gnawed at him as he drowned in it - all around him was Moony and that was all that mattered.

Forget going seven days without seeing the man, he didn’t want to go seven minutes.

Moony teasingly ran his hand under the hem of Sirius’ shirt, lifting it up and trailing his fingers along soft skin, snogging him all the while - his hot hands teasing Sirius in a way he found irresistible. Sirius let out a small moan as Remus pulled away and looked at him, his eyes burning with an odd fire that was as bright as the stars themselves.

“Yes,” Remus said, his voice carrying a sort of promise, “let’s move in together.”

The confirmation shot through Sirius and he sat there stunned, waiting for the floor to open up underneath him. But it didn't so he fiercely pulled Remus back in closer to kiss him again, running his hands up and down his back gently under his shirt, feeling Moony’s warm skin against his fingertips. He wanted to keep the other man here forever, protect him, comfort him, love him until the day he couldn’t any more.

“Padfoot?” Moony pulled back.

“Yes, love?”

“You know I just want to make you happy, right?”

“You do,” Sirius leaned forward and snogged him again, “you make me the happiest.”

Moony shook his head in disbelief, “Sometimes I have to remind myself how lucky I am.”

“Of course you’re lucky,” Sirius grinned, even when he privately thought that he was the lucky one to have Remus. “You have me.”

Remus laughed. “Yes, I have you.” He snuggled up to Sirius, cheek to his chest, as the last meteor fell, completely unnoticed. Sirius ran his fingers through Moony’s hair, soft and silky, enjoying the silence surrounding them, even if the kisses had gotten him a bit hot and bothered under his robes. He was still riding the high, and Remus had agreed to move in with him.

His Remus had agreed to move in with him.

Nothing could make him happier.

* * *

**\- Final Storm -**

**Mid June 1978 - Sun Showers**

The Marauders' graduation from Hogwarts was on a bright sunny morning in the Spring of 1978. 

There was a ceremony for seventh years and family members, should they choose to attend, which was usually held in the Great Hall, but because it was so sunny the ceremony had been moved outside by the lake. The sun reflected off the water, making it shimmer. Sirius was seated with Remus on his left and James on his right - which was just as well because they kept him from dozing off. There were long speeches, which Sirius felt dragged on, but Lily had been selected to say a few words. James was more nervous for her than she was, and spent her entire speech poking Sirius in the thigh with a proud smile on his face and nervous look in his eye as she talked about “the bright future that was ahead.” The sun caught her new engagement ring on her left hand every time she gestured with it. The sunny day and her optimistic message seemed in direct contrast with reality, but Sirius supposed he could let it slide for just one morning.

Fleamont and Euphema Potter, the only parents of their group who had traveled in, had congratulatory smiles after the ceremony for all the Marauders and their future daughter-in-law - Sirius felt extra proud when Euphema gave him just one more hug before they departed on the Hogwarts Express. 

The train had barely even left the platform before partying began in earnest. 

Back in the common room, bottles of champagne were cracked first, followed by ale, and then one of the girls brought in some butterbeer and mead. James and Peter returned from the kitchens with copious amounts of sweets and a celebratory cake. It was the happiest he’d seen his classmates in months, Sirius mused, as he collapsed on the floor by the end of the sofa - a bottle of butterbeer in hand. With war looming over them, reasons to celebrate felt few and far between these days.

“Exams are over, you know - you don’t have to think so hard,” James joked above him. 

Sirius looked up at him.

“Seriously, Pads, I can practically hear your thoughts from here,” James chuckled. 

“I am brilliant,” Sirius flashed a smile, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

 _“ Sure_ you are,” Peter teased. Sirius wasn’t sure where he’d come from, but suddenly he was there. 

“I graduated, didn’t I? With all “O”s on my NEWTS too.”

“Mostly “O”s,” James said with a smile. “C’mon, Pads, we’re finally out of here! No need to be _so_ down about it.” He held out his glass and clinked it against Sirius’. “We’re not even separating right away. My parents are cool with you staying at my place until you settle your own, and Lily and I won’t be moving in together until we’re married in August-”

“Wedding!” Peter cheered, holding up his glass. “Oi, Lily!” He called across the room. 

The redhead looked over and Sirius knew he’d lost James to one Lily Potter by the look that crossed his best friend’s face - it was the same one he wore when he looked at a certain werewolf. Sirius watched as she walked over, slipping her arm around James’ waist. He kissed her on the cheek. 

“Aw, so sweet,” Peter mocked with a smile on his face.

“You two are the picture perfect couple,” Sirius confirmed from the floor.

“Things I never thought I’d hear Sirius Black say number 569,” Lily said with a laugh, looking down at him. “Exactly how drunk are you?”

Sirius wasn’t really all that drunk, but he wasn’t going to admit it. “Enough,” he said, getting to his feet. “Good speech today, Lils - James was enraptured.” He held out his bottle and clicked it against James’ cup with a smile. 

“Thanks! I’m glad it went over well. Alice and Remus both congratulated me earlier." She turned to James. "Your parents too. I think people really liked it."

“People loved it,” James reassured her, pulling her closer. Even Sirius had to admit she did have the most entertaining speech of the day - even if he’d been expressly forbidden from pulling any pranks at the ceremony. Sirius thought back to the serious look on Remus' and James' faces as they made him swear he wouldn't do anything to ruin the morning. _Speaking of which…_

“Hey, James,” he interrupted the love-birds, “have you seen Remus?”

“Huh? Oh. I think he said he was going on a walk or something. That was a while ago.”

“Outside?” Lily asked with a small frown, “but it started raining.”

“It did?” Sirius asked. She nodded as he looked over at the window - where the sun was still shining brightly but, low and behold, raindrops were collecting up on the glass.

“Sun showers - I heard those are supposed to be good luck,” James said sagely, like he knew what he was talking about.

“That’s for a wedding day,” Lily said with a laugh. 

“Speaking of...”

Sirius let their voices fade into the background as they discussed their wedding plans and Peter moved across the room to chat with Marlene and Alice. Downing the last of his butterbeer, he stood up and loudly announced he was going to get more before slipping out of the common room, intent on finding Remus. It wasn’t like Moony to just disappear without telling him. Remus had had the map last too, so Sirius could only guess where he’d got to. He checked some of their favorite secret corners and empty classrooms but no luck. So, following Lily’s lead, he went outside, found a quiet spot to transform, and let his nose carry him through the rain to Moony. The trail was easy to find, tracking Remus always felt natural when he was Padfoot, and he darted off in search of his mate. The scent of cinnamon, spice, books and warm sweaters that came through as the essence of Remus that always clung to him - even on the full moons they shared when Moony was more beast than man.

Padfoot’s nose led him to the Shrieking Shack.

Pausing for a moment Sirius took in the sight of Remus standing by the bed, captivated by the other man. Remus’ fingers were lowered so the pads touched on the torn and threadbare mattress almost wistfully, and he had an almost pensive look on his face.

Sirius transformed back from Padfoot. “Hey,” he said once he found the word, transforming sometimes took a second of reorientation. The rain pattered on the roof as he gave himself a little shake to try and dry off. “Party’s upstairs,” he said with a smile, cocking his head to the side.

“I know,” Remus replied, a soft smile on his lips, “just wanted a break, I guess.”

There was a hint of melancholy in his eyes and Sirius found himself swiftly moving across the room and grabbing Remus’ free hand, squeezing it tight. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” he asked, sincerely, rubbing his nose against Remus’ playfully - hoping Remus would tell him what was wrong.

Remus let out a sigh. “Nothing,” he said. “It’s just - for seven years I had transformations in here. And I found my pack - I found you.” He squeezed Sirius’ hand. “And now, we’re leaving and I don’t know… I don’t feel…”

Sirius felt a surge of protection well up in him. “You know you’ll never be alone, right? Not again. Not as long as I am alive.”

“I know,” Remus’ voice was soft. “But what if there comes a day-”

“There won’t!”

“Sirius, we’re- We’re all going our separate ways. There’s going to be-”

“First of all,” Sirius said, moving to sit down on the bed and pulling Remus between his legs, “We - you and me - are not going our separate ways. We are going to find some place to live together.” He gently brushed a lock of hair from Remus’ face and tucked it behind his ear before moving to cup his cheek. “And second of all - come what may, I know one thing - nothing can separate me from you. Even if I’m not physically there. Nothing.”

Remus smiled at him and Sirius moved in to kiss his lips soundly, heat building between them as they snogged. Remus’ lips were parted and open to him as Sirius wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer. Remus felt solid against him and Sirius’ heart skipped a beat as wave after wave crashed over him, filling him with warmth, unfurling all his senses as the taste of Remus rocked him to his core. Sirius breathed him in, claiming his mouth again, hungry and intense. If time stopped right there, the two of them glued to one another, Sirius decided he would be perfectly fine. 

Letting out a small moan, Sirius moved his hand to cup Remus’ arse, pulling him in between his knees so their bodies pressed together. Sirius could feel Remus’ length growing beneath him and his own erection coming up to meet it. Moving his hands from Remus’ arse to his back, Sirius pulled Remus’ shirt over his head. His fingers traced along a raised scar on his back, delicately pressing into the soft skin, but he didn’t pull back to admire the view - he had Moony’s body memorized by look and feel. He leaned back in to reclaim his boyfriend’s lips.

“Mm,” Remus’ small moans rang loudly like a Sonorus charm, and the sound traveled straight to Sirius’ cock as he shed his own shirt, which met Remus’ on the floor. He pulled the other man on top of him and onto the bed, pressing their bare torsos together, skin to skin, and their cocks lining up - only a few millimeters of fabric separating their hardness.

Remus moved to kiss down Sirius’ chest, hot lips tracing a perfect line down his torso before stopping to tease at his waistband, causing Sirius to arch up off the bed.

“Yeah, you like that?” Remus breathed - his voice carrying in the room like he’d shouted, but Sirius knew the words were just for him. He could only gasp as Remus pulled off his trousers in one swift movement, freeing his incredibly hard cock from the tight confines of his pants. He barely had a moment to process it before Remus licked his tongue up the underside in one long, amazing line before teasing the tip of his cock - rotating his tongue around in swirls, driving Sirius crazy. He let out a whimper, which Remus must have taken as a cue because he suddenly took all of Sirius into his mouth and sucked him deeply. Sirius let out a gasp and jerked his hips up - Remus’ hands came down to his hips to hold him in place and were soon stroking Sirius’ hips while he sucked on Sirius’ cock like he couldn’t get enough.

The pleasure of Remus’ warm mouth on him was intoxicating and Sirius felt himself melt into the bed. He closed his eyes and let go of everything except for the feel of Remus’ mouth on him - his tongue playing with the underside of Sirius’ cock, making him feel so good. It was incredible that his Moony wanted him like this. He still could hardly believe how lucky he was. Sirius reached his hands down to tangle in Remus’ hair, the strands silky soft. Remus moaned around him, and Sirius fought the urge thrust upwards - happy to let Remus play with him to his heart's content.

Slowly the pressure began to build. The warmth of Remus' mouth, his tongue teasing, and the unyielding way his hands gripped Sirius' body, holding down his hips, all pooled in his groin. He could feel himself getting close. He moved his hands, still gently tangled in Remus’ hair, to try and pull him up, but Remus shook his head and continued to suck Sirius’ cock.

“Ugh, Moons, I’m gonna- I’m close,” he tried to warn but his voice sounded strained with pleasure. If anything the words made Remus suck harder until Sirius let go and was cumming - rope after rope of hot cum shooting directly down Remus’ throat. Remus looked up at him as he swallowed it all, and Sirius felt like he could come again just from the extremely satisfied look on his face. 

Remus gave the cock one final suck before letting it fall from his lips, spent and sensitive. He removed his pants before climbing back on top of him and kissing him soundly. Sirius’ own taste was on his lips but Sirius didn’t mind. He had Remus on top of him, and he felt warm, happy and sated - well _he_ was anyway. Remus was still very, very hard.

Deepening the kiss, Sirius moved his hand down to gently trace the outline of Remus’ thick, jutting cock, teasing the soft skin that felt like velvet. Remus’ small gasps made his heart race as his hand moved lower before finally wrapping tightly around the base. Moony let out a loud gasp.

“Yeah, you like that?” Sirius’ teased, moving his hand up and down Remus’ shaft, loving that he was bringing his boyfriend so much pleasure.

“Yeah, love- I need…” Remus let his voice trail off and his cheeks flushed even deeper. 

“What do you need?” Sirius asked, continuing to stroke Remus with one hand while his other moved to grab Remus’ arse.

“I need to cum for you,” Remus said, his voice wanton with pleasure. 

“How do you want to cum?” Sirius whispered, teasing his hole with his finger, moving his finger around the tight pucker while continuing to jerk Remus’ cock with his other. Moony melted against him.

“Doesn’t matter - I’m so close, Sirius.”

“Cum for me, baby,” Sirius whispered in his ear as he pushed one finger into Remus’ arse. 

And that was all it took - spurts of thick, hot cum landed on Sirius’ chest. With a pleased smile, Sirius reached out to smear some on his finger before sucking it clean. The taste was bittersweet, like a rich dark chocolate, and so very Remus that Sirius got a thrill every time he got a taste of him. He pulled his boyfriend forward for a kiss - their tastes mixing together.

“We taste good together,” Remus laughed softly, collapsing on top of Sirius. 

“Yeah we do,” Sirius agreed, kissing Remus again.

They laid there for a while, listening to the rain drumming against the roof, holding each other close. 

“I’ll miss this,” Remus said.

“Miss doing it in the shack?” Sirius teased.

Remus laughed. “Considering this is our first time doing it in the shack and it’s our last day at Hogwarts, that’s clearly what I meant.” Sirius rolled his eyes, and Remus playfully swatted at him. They had joked about doing it in the Shack countless times, but in truth Remus never liked to spend time in the Shack except when he had to for full moons. This place belonged to his wolf. “What I meant was, I’ll miss this. Hogwarts, what we have, you and I sneaking around...” He leaned down happily and kissed Sirius again. “All our pranks, creating the map…” Remus bit his lip and Sirius fought the urge to kiss it. “Sure, it hasn’t always been easy but- it’s become home.”

“Yeah,” Sirius agreed, wrapping his arm around Remus’ shoulders. “I’ll miss it too.” _Hogwarts had become more of a home than his ever was but_ _-_ “But, anywhere you are is my home.”

The rain fell as they emerged from the Shack and walked back to the castle. Neither boy noticed there was a rainbow behind them over the Forbidden Forest. It was James who told them later that night before Remus crawled into Sirius’ bed and fell asleep for the last time at Hogwarts as students, but already home with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos always help writers weather every storm 🌦🌕 💛
> 
> Join me on [tumblr](https://micheleblack.tumblr.com/)


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